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The Virus in the Blood
| Bro Gordon Ochieng (Madiany, Kenya)
D
eath is a basic fact in the world, a great
and awful and universal fact. It ravages
night and day round the globe. It is the main
thing that most men and women fear and
dread. They know that it usually approaches
silently and stealthily. They must leave family
and friends, businesses and comforts and
wealth. Being shut up in the coffin and
consigned to the tomb, people dread the
thought. Many have wished death to wait a
while. But death will not wait a while, not
even for philosophers to finish their delibera-
tions.
Paul says, “The sting of death is sin”
(1Corinthians 15:56). It is sin that stings unto
death. We are all stung by what can be called
‘The virus in the blood’. We
cannot arrest the law of sin and
death in our bodies. It is only a
question of time until the end
comes. David, at the close of his
life, said, “For we are strangers
before thee, and sojourners, as
were all our fathers” (1Chroni-
cles 29:15). The Bible tells us,
“We all do fade as a leaf” (Isaiah 64:6). “Your
fathers, where are they? And the prophets,
do they live for ever?” (Zechariah 1:5).
We find the wages of sin in Genesis 3:17.
There, at that time, the virus entered the
human blood of the first creation- Adam. Let
us forget all that has happened since, such as
HIV/AIDS, Ebola and all the other literal
viruses, this universal virus has been in the
human blood since Edenic condemnation. It is
a sentence to return to dust. The apostle Paul
stresses that by one man’s offence, the virus
has spread to all. Never mind the test results
for literal viruses such as AIDS, this virus is in
the blood of every human being, and all must
die.
What a blank it makes in loving hearts. It
closes the loving eye, stops the benevolent
heart, silences earnest and eloquent tongues,
paralyses active limbs and shuts down the
thoughtful brain. It robs us of life, it robs us
of those we love. Dust to dust- this is death,
this is how sin stings. Everybody tests positive
in the divine laboratory for this virus.
Medically, people often discriminate against
those perceived to be HIV/AIDS positive.
There is a stigma, with travel and movement
restrictions in many places. But the Bible says
that the problem with humanity is not HIV or
Ebola, but the sinful nature we possess. We
inherited it from Eden. Whether king or
queen, president or prime minister, rich or
poor, we all test positive for sin. In the divine
laboratories, we are all infected.
Advanced research in the medical field and,
especially, human reproductive health has
seen tremendous discoveries
like vaccines to sustain life and
postpone death. But the Edenic
virus is too deep for doctors’
skills: it is in the constitution. It
is the blood: it is deeply-
engrained and incurable. All the
doctors can do is- nothing. In
contrast, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the only spiritual physician with the cure of
this virus in our bodies. He has promised to
fashion us like unto his own glorious body.
Life, life: that is what humanity wants-
endless, painless, joyful life. That is what is
promised (1 John 5:11-12). Death by Adam:
endless life through Christ Jesus. Jesus is the
saviour (Acts 4:12). We must be united to that
all-saving name. We cannot save ourselves,
however hard we try. We are saved entirely by
the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). There is no
other way of escape from the sting of sin.
Only through the blood of Jesus Christ shall
the virus be wiped out from our blood.
“He will swallow up death in victory”. This is
a promise partly fulfilled “For he hath swal-
lowed up death in victory” in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is for the completion
of the work that we wait. “Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.”
Meanwhile, death reigns and tears flow.